Panama Premium Boquete – Finca Benedictus – Geisha Natural Processed

Description

An awesome addition this season to the super premium Panama lineup.

Processed by K&R Selections, which is owned by Keith’s uncle. They work with 80 small holders to produce either aggregate offerings, or occasionally, very small boutique lots.

This one caught the eye of both Keith and his uncle as one to separate out and promote as a single farm top lot. We can see why, one sniff and you know you have something amazing. A rare day something comes close to outshining the Mama Cata Geisha, but this comes awfully close.   Being natural processed, it has a bit stronger of a fruit note than the Mama Cata, but by no means does it cover up its Geisha attributes like some naturals.

Geisha is an Ethiopian strain of coffee, grown in many origins now. Very hard to produce and a finicky plant. Most of the worlds best (subjective for sure..) coffees are now Geisha strains. Elevation has to be super high, not just normal coffee high of 4000 feet, one has to get it closer to 6000 feet for it to taste distinctive. Low yields and low disease resistance make it a challenge for any farmer. The benefits, when done correctly and with a little luck, you get a cup with tastes and aromatics like no other.

Tasting Notes: Hands down, best at a light roast. Pretty blasting floral acidity, not your normal lemon bomb, the acidity itself comes off a bit candied floral like and is balanced with a sweet dark tea spice tone, from the natural processing one gets just a pinch of a grape/orange fruitiness that will combine with all the other diverse flavors to give a hint of bergamot in the aftertaste. Unique attributes really only seen in the Geisha strain. Making these beans a perfect example of what a Geisha should taste like. The aromatics are similar to jasmine with a touch of fruit. Sweet, punchy, floral, fruit, jasmine, tea, bergamot… these beans are spot on.

Roasting Notes: A little bit of a trickier coffee to roast. Unlike Damarli or Mama Cata Geisha, this one is unscreened. Will see some larger and smaller beans in the mix. Will see some two toned roasting as well to go along with the high chaff. About 3% of the beans will appear a bit lighter than the rest. Well worth keeping a close eye on this one in the roaster. Watch for the expansion in size, give it just a quick second, and cool it out. Do not worry about the 3% still a bit golden in color. Coffee will taste great regardless of leaving them in there. We know some perfectionist might flick them, but they add to the diversity in taste. Be patient after roasting, high enough acidity where you would be wise to let it sit for 3-5 days before drinking, or the floral/citric tones will cover up some awesome balance and fruitiness.